Maariv to Hit Presses for Final Time
One of Israel's oldest newspapers is closing down and hundreds of journalists will lose their jobs. Maariv has struggled to compete with the launch of a free right-wing newspaper, owned by US casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson. Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Jerusalem.

Political Author Sees Television Show Dropped after Nicolas Sarkozy Book
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A political author whose face Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to "smash in" over claims Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was a "maneater" has seen his state television show shelved, sparking claims that the French president was involved in the move.

Last month, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, 62, director of the weekly magazine Le Point, released a biography on Mr Sarkozy called M. Le President, which today tops France's bestseller list.

In it, he branded Mr Sarkozy a "child king" who is "drunk on himself", "immature" and a "weathervane" who is "tyrannical" with his entourage and above all his friends. He recounts being subjected to a 40-minute telephone tirade by [the] Mr Sarkozy sparked by an article offering "24 tips to the President ahead of his marriage to Mademoiselle Bruni".

One piece of advice was: "Do not introduce your new wife to your sons, Barack Obama or any handsome men."

Mr Sarkozy told Mr Giesbert: "This article is filth and I should smash your face in."

"You'll see what I'm going to do to you, you'll see," he threatened. Mr Giesbert said the president subsequently sought to pressure Le Point's owner, the luxury goods billionaire François Pinault, into firing Mr Giesbert, to no avail. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Friday, May 06, 2011

Front Pages Report the Death of Osama bin Laden
DAILY TELEGRAPH PICTURE GALLERIES: US front pages » | Front pages from around the world »

Internet Porn Billionaire to Take Over Le Monde
THE TELEGRAPH: Le Monde's journalists' association, the paper's main shareholder, have voted for the daily to be taken over by three French investors who President Nicolas Sarkozy sought to block.

The consortium is made up of Pierre Berge, ex-partner of the late fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent, Lazard banker Matthieu Pigasse and internet tycoon Xavier Niel.

Mr Niel made his fortune on internet pornography, chat lines and peep shows.

The trio have promised journalists at the paper a "blocking" vote on future changes and complete editorial independence.

The journalists' association voted 90 per cent in favour of their bid and rejected an offer by a group that includes France Telecom subsidiary Orange, the Nouvel Observateur group and Spain's Prisa, which owns El Pais newspaper.

The newspaper is expected to make its final decision on the offer by the end of the month.

Le Monde, France's flagship daily, is being crushed by a mountain of debt and put out a call to investors capable of injecting between 80 and 120 million euros to come to its aid. >>> | Monday, June 28, 2010

Paid Content: The Days of the Internet Free Lunch Are Numbered
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Media billionaire Rupert Murdoch wants to start charging online readers of his newspapers a fee. His decision has launched a fierce debate over the future of the culture of free content on the Internet. It has also posed a difficult question for publishers: How much are we worth to readers?

Rupert Murdoch has no use for computers. The 78-year-old Australian-American media billionaire doesn't like e-mail, he avoids the Internet and he even has trouble using his mobile phone. He doesn't exactly fit the picture of an online messiah.

But in recent weeks, Murdoch startled the publishing world when he uttered a few sentences that were as simple as they were revolutionary, such as: "Quality journalism isn't cheap." That led to his decision to start charging for online use of his many newspapers around the globe in the coming months. If Murdoch has his way, the days of free culture on the Internet will be numbered.

It didn't take much time after the remarks by Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation and owner of hundreds of newspapers and television stations, for the response to start pouring in: publishers the world over agreed. If anyone needed proof that Murdoch is still the mogul of media moguls, this was it.

Murdoch, of all people -- the man biographer Michael Wolff recently complained doesn't even know "what the Internet is." The old man, Wolff added, might be on the verge of bringing about important changes on the Internet, but only "if he can find it."

The aging businessman may indeed know little about the Internet, and no one knows how serious he is about his idea. But one thing is certain: A man like Murdoch is not about to stand on the sidelines while he loses money. He has also struck a nerve in the industry, once again. >>> Isabel Hülsen | Friday, August 21, 2009